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Butler’s 35 Leads Falcons To 102-Point Day, Victory Over Morgan State

Ziggyville Population: 180
Sat, Dec 7, 2024

Ziggyville Population: 180
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team topped the Morgan State Bears, 102-81, Saturday afternoon (Dec. 7) at the Stroh Center, the first 100-point game against a Division I opponent for BGSU since scoring 100 against Robert Morris on Dec. 19, 2021. In the Falcons' first home game since Nov. 19, Bowling Green put up points early and often. A 22-point first half from Derrick Butler spearheaded the BGSU offense to a 55-37 halftime advantage. The Falcons continued their strong approach in the second half with Butler increasing his point total to 35 while five other Falcons reached double-digit point totals as well, including 16 second-half points by Trey Thomas. With the win, Bowling Green advances to 3-1 at home this season while being 4-5 on the year overall. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Jamai Felt won the opening tip in his first career start, but the first points of the game were scored by Morgan State with a three. Felt worked in a tip-in layup to put the Falcons on the board, but the Bears answered with a jumper. 
  • Marcus Johnson kept the BGSU scoring going with a jumper, but another Morgan State jumper responded. A dunk for the Bears stretched their lead to 9-4.
  • Derrick Butler kickstarted the BGSU offense with a pair of free throws followed by a three, tying the game at 9-9 at the first media timeout.
  • The run of the Falcons carried through the stoppage. Butler stayed hot, converting an and-one opportunity for an 8-0 run on his own. A Javontae Campbell layup made it a 10-0 BGSU run along with a 14-9 advantage.
  • A Morgan State layup ended the run, but the Falcons quickly started another with Felt making a tip-in layup. Layups from Campbell and Braelon Green followed by an and-one from Johnson and then a Squire layup made it an 11-0 run and 19-2 stretch with a 25-11 lead at the under-12 media break.
  • Coming out of the break, Morgan State tallied a jumper to pause the BGSU scoring. Johnson hit a three for BGSU, but two Morgan State jumpers and a free throw followed for a 28-18 score.
  • Campbell got the Falcons back on the board with a layup followed by another Bears jumper, but another BGSU run followed.
  • Butler got the run started with a three before slamming home a dunk on the next trip. His own run continued with another three for an 8-0 run on his own, his second of the game, pushing the lead to 38-20 Falcons.
  • Morgan State hit a three, but Butler followed with a jumper and layup. The Bears and Green traded layups for a 44-25 score at the under-8 timeout, coming with 5:38 on the clock.
  • Play resumed with a dunk for the Bears, but an and-one for Green put the Falcons back in the scoring column with Morgan State following with an and-one of their own.
  • The Falcons began a short run with Green getting a layup to fall followed by an emphatic dunk by Felt and then a Butler layup for a 6-0 run and 53-30 lead.
  • Morgan State tallied a quick run of their own with a 4-0 burst, ended by two Squire free throws. The Bears added a three before half, sending the teams to the locker room with a 55-37 tally in favor of the Falcons. 
  • Morgan State opened the second half with a jumper. Campbell followed with an and-one for the Falcons. Butler hit a three and Johnson added two free throws for a 63-39 BGSU lead.
  • The Bears hit a three, but Butler quickly answered with one of his own. Trey Thomas, Squire and Butler all made layups with a MSU layup following each for a 72-48 score at the media break.
  • Coming out of the timeout, Butler hit another three. Morgan State answered with an and-one, but a Thomas three pushed the advantage back to 78-51 Falcons.
  • The Bears put together a 8-0 run to cut into the deficit, bringing the score to 78-59 to force a BGSU timeout.
  • Bowling Green stopped the run with a Squire layup off the dish from a driving Green followed by the under-12 media timeout with the score at 80-59.
  • Campbell made a pair of layups for the Falcons interrupted by a Morgan State jumper. Two Squire free throws stretched the lead for an 86-61 score.
  • Two free throws for Morgan State halted the run, but Thomas jump started it again with a layup and a three for a 5-0 burst on his own, giving the Falcons a 91-63 lead at the under-8 media timeout.
  • The Bears made two free throws after the timeout. Campbell answered for BGSU with a layup, but Morgan State added one of their own.
  • Squire slammed down a dunk for the Falcons, but a tip in for Morgan State matched the tally. Two MSU free throws followed. 
  • Thomas hit a three for BGSU followed by a Morgan State layup before the under-4 media timeout with a 98-74 Falcon lead.
  • A free throw for each team pushed the score to 99-75 with the Falcon free throw coming from Green. A 6-0 Morgan State run followed for a 99-81 tally.
  • Thomas hit a three for the final bucket of the game, pushing Bowling Green past the 100-point mark for the second time this season with a 102-81 final.

STAT LEADERS

FALCON STAT FACTS

  • Bowling Green had six different players score double digits in the game, the most for the team since having six do so against Hampton on Dec. 11, 2022. 
  • As a team, the Falcons shot 57.4-percent from the field. Bowling Green has now shot 50-percent or better three times this season, being 3-0 in those games. 
  • The Falcons recorded 21 assists as a team, the most for BGSU so far this season and the most since having 20 against Ohio on Jan. 9, 2024. Three different Falcons recorded five assists. 
  • Derrick Butler led the Falcons in scoring with 35 points in the game, the most by a Falcon on the current roster and the second 30-point game by a Falcon this season. Butler tallied 20 points in the first 14 minutes of the game, registering the second 20-point half by a Falcon this season. 
  • Of Butler's 35 points, 18 came from behind the three-point arc with six triples. Butler is the first Falcon with six threes in a game since Trey Thomas had six against Hampton on Dec. 19, 2023.
  • Entering the night tied for seventh in the nation in total steals, Javontae Campbell added another four to his tally, now with 27 on the season. Campbell stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, a team-high eight rebounds and a season-high five assists, tying for the team lead.
  • Trey Thomas added 16 points for the Falcons, including four three-pointers. Thomas missed his season-high point total by one, but matched his season-highs in rebounds (3) and steals (2). 
  • Jamai Felt made his first career start for the Falcons, logging six points and seven rebounds over 18 minutes of action. 
  • Preston Squire posted a season-high 12 points for Bowling Green, playing a season-high 24 minutes. Squire added three rebounds, including two on the offensive end, while making his first trips to the free throw line this season, going 4-for-5 at the stripe. 
  • Braelon Green joined in on the double-digit scoring, putting up 10 over a season-high 29 minutes. Green added a career-high five assists, tying for the team lead. 
  • Marcus Johnson followed with a nearly identical stat line to Green's, finishing with 10 points and a career-high five assists to tie for the team lead. 
  • The Falcons are now 3-0 all-time against Morgan State and have registered consecutive wins for the first time this season.
  • With the win, the Falcons remain undefeated in the month of December during the Simon Era of BGSU men's hoops. 
  • Bowling Green has now won three-straight home games with two of those wins being from 100-point offensive outputs. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons will have their current homestand briefly interrupted with a road game at UMKC next Saturday (Dec. 14) scheduled for an 8 p.m. EST start. From there, BGSU men's hoops will return home to host St. Thomas on Dec. 21 and Aquinas College on Dec. 23.  

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